First aid refers to the actions taken in response to someone who is injured or has suddenly become ill. A first aider is a person who takes action while taking care to keep everyone involved safe and to cause no further harm while doing so. Follow the actions that most benefit the casualty, taking into account your own skills, knowledge, and experience.

One of the primary rules of first aid is to ensure that an area is safe for you before you approach a casualty.

Do not attempt heroic rescues in hazardous circumstances. If you put yourself at risk, you are unlikely to be able to help casualties and could become one yourself and cause harm to others.

FIRST AID PRIORITIES

â– Assess a situation quickly and calmly.

â– Protect yourself and any casualties from danger—never put yourself at risk.

â– Prevent cross-contamination between yourself and the casualty as best as possible.

â– Comfort and reassure casualties.

â– Assess the casualty: identify, as best as you can, the injury or nature of illness affecting a casualty.

â– Give early treatment, and treat the casualties with the most serious (life-threatening) conditions first.

HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF

When responding to an emergency you should recognize the emotional and physical needs of all involved, including your own. You should look after your own psychological health and be able to recognize stress if it develops.

A calm, considerate response from you that engenders trust and respect from those around you is fundamental to your being able to give or receive information from a casualty or witnesses effectively.

This includes being aware of, and managing, your reactions, so that you can focus on the casualty and make an assessment.

By talking to a casualty in a kind, considerate, gentle but firm manner, you will inspire confidence in your actions and this will generate trust between you and the casualty. Without this confidence he may not tell you about an important event, injury, or symptom, and may remain in a highly distressed state.

The key steps to being an effective first aider are:

â– Be calm in your approach

â– Be aware of risks (to yourself and others)

â– Build and maintain trust (from the casualty and the bystanders)

â– Give early treatment, treating the most serious (life-threatening) conditions first

â– Call appropriate help

â– Remember your own needs

PROTECTION FROM INFECTION

When you give first aid, it is important to protect yourself (and the casualty) from infection as well as injury.

Take steps to avoid cross-contamination—transmitting germs or infection to a casualty or contracting infection from a casualty. Remember, infection is a risk even with relatively minor injuries. It is a particular concern if you are treating a wound, because blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis B or C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), may be transmitted by contact with blood.

In practice, the risk is low and should not deter you from carrying out first aid. The risk increases if an infected person’s blood makes contact with yours through a cut or scrape.

Usually, taking measures such as washing your hands and wearing disposable gloves will provide sufficient protection for you and the casualty. There is no known evidence of these blood-borne viruses being transmitted during resuscitation. If a face shield or pocket mask is available, it should be used when you give rescue breaths.

Do wash your hands and wear latex-free disposable gloves (in case you or the casualty are allergic to latex). If gloves are not available, ask the casualty to dress his or her own wound, or enclose your hands in clean plastic bags.

â– Do cover cuts and scrapes on your hands with waterproof dressings.

â– Do wear a plastic apron if dealing with large quantities of body fluids, and wear glasses or goggles to protect your eyes.

â– Do dispose of all waste safely.

â– Do not touch a wound or any part of a dressing that will come into contact with a wound with your bare hands.

â– Do not breathe, cough, or sneeze over a wound while you are treating a casualty.

DEALING WITH A CASUALTY

Casualties are often frightened because of what is happening to them, and what may happen next. Your role is to stay calm and take charge of the situation—but be ready to stand back if there is someone better qualified. If there is more than one casualty, use the primary survey to identify the most seriously injured casualties and treat in the order of priority.

BUILDING TRUST

Establish trust with your casualty by introducing yourself. Find out what the person likes to be called, and use his name when you talk to him. Crouch or kneel down so that you are at the same height as the casualty. Explain what is happening and why. You will inspire trust if you say what you are doing before you do it. Treat the casualty with dignity and respect at all times.

Consider the age and appearance of your casualty when you talk to him, since different people need different responses. Respect people’s wishes; accept that someone might want to be treated in a particular way. Communication can be difficult if a person speaks a different language or cannot hear you. Use simple language or signs or write questions down. Ask if anyone speaks the same language as the casualty or knows the person or saw the incident and can describe what happened.

â– Make eye contact, but look away now and then so as not to stare.

â– Use a calm, confident voice that is loud enough to be heard but do not shout.

â– Do not speak too quickly.

â– Keep instructions simple: use short sentences and simple words.

â– Use affirming nods to show you are listening when the casualty speaks.

â– Check that the casualty understands what you mean—ask to make sure.

â– Use simple hand gestures and movements.

â– Do not interrupt the casualty, but always acknowledge what you are told; for example, summarize what a casualty has told you to show that you understand.

Airway: The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are the normal entry and exit ports for the airway. Entering air then passes through the back of the throat (pharynx) and continues through the voice box (larynx), down the trachea, to finally pass through the bronchi.

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit surgery and other painful procedures.

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat bacterial infections.

Aspirin: The common name for this anti-inflammatory pain reliever.

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell.

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries.

Blood sugar: Blood glucose.

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs.

Calamine: An astringent made from zinc carbonate or zinc oxide, customarily used in lotion form to treat skin problems or insect bites that cause itching or discomfort.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR): A life-saving emergency procedure that involves breathing for the victim and applying external chest compression to make the heart pump. Abbreviated CPR. In the early stages of a heart attack, death can often be avoided if a bystander starts CPR within 5 minutes of the onset of ventricular fibrillation. When paramedics arrive, medications and/or electrical shock (cardioversion) to the heart can be administered to convert ventricular fibrillation to a normal heart rhythm. Prompt CPR and rapid paramedic response can improve the chances of survival from a heart attack.

Decongestant: A drug that shrinks the swollen membranes in the nose, making it easier for breathing.

Defibrillator: A device that corrects an abnormal heart rhythm by delivering electrical shock.

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply.

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health.

Hypoglycemia: Low blood sugar (glucose).

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound.

Insulin: A natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of the sugar glucose.

Laxative: Something that promotes emptying of the bowels. Laxatives are used to combat constipation. They are sometimes overused, producing diarrhea. Laxatives include milk of magnesia and many others.

B Cardiac arrest takes precedence in treatment over deep cuts and fractures. If the heart is not working, then there is no point in treating the other conditions until the heart has been restarted. Log on to www.onlineminingexam.com for CMR/MMR/GATE test series

D ABC = Airway – to ensure it is not obstructed; if it is, then clear it, if safe to do so; Breathing – to make sure this is possible and assist with artificial respiration if required; Circulation – Heart and pulse – check the beat, its rate and strength, and record the information. If the heart has stopped, then proceed with heart massage.

C The recovery position is the position in which the victim would be placed to promote its recovery in terms of breathing and circulation.

D Blue mucous membranes indicate that there is a problem with oxygen getting to the tissues of the body. Log on to www.onlineminingexam.com for CMR/MMR/GATE test series